Asiatic acid, madecassic acid and asiaticoside, trisaccharide of asiatic acid, which are compounds extracted from Centella asiatica, isolated firstly by Bontems in 1941 [J. E. Bontems, Bull. Sci. Pharmacol., 49, 186-91(1941)] and their structures were defined by Polonsky [J. Polonsky, Compt. Rend., 232, 1878-80(1951); J. Polonsky, Bull. Soc. Chim., 173-80(1953)].
The extracts including asiatic acid and asiaticoside from Centella asiatica have been used for treatment of hurted skin or chronic ulcer since old times, and also for treatment deformation of skin due to tuberculosis or leprosy [P. Boiteau, A. Buzas, E. Lederer and J. Polonsky, Bull. Soc. Chim., 31, 46-51(1949)].